Wilmington Council to hold special annexation meeting

The owner of the shuttered shopping center has urged Wrightsville Beach to de-annex the property for redevelopment.

By Julian MarchJulian.March@StarNewsOnline.com

Area officials are considering a proposal to de-annex the Galleria Shopping Center property from Wrightsville Beach and add it to Wilmington.On Thursday, Wrightsville Beach will hold a public hearing on the proposal before the aldermen decide whether to support the request. On Friday, the Wilmington City Council will hold a special meeting to vote on a resolution supporting the annexation. The results of those meetings could determine the likelihood the N.C. General Assembly, which has the authority to de-annex, will add the 12 acres to Wilmington's city limits. Although on the mainland portion of New Hanover County, the Galleria is one of the few properties west of the Intracoastal Waterway that was annexed by Wrightsville Beach before that section of the county was incorporated by Wilmington.Equity One Inc., which owns the shuttered shopping center, has asked Wrightsville Beach to support the de-annexation, in part so developers can pursue a mixed-use development. In a June 4 letter to Town Manager Tim Owens, Robert Mitzel, the president of Equity's southeast region, cited a number of reasons. For one, the Wrightsville Sound Small-Area Plan adopted in 2011 recommends that the property, at 6800 Wrightsville Ave., be redeveloped into a mix of housing and commercial uses, Equity One said.State Street Companies is currently under contract to purchase the shopping center and has plans for a mixed-use development. It also supports efforts for de-annexation, the letter stated. State Street is known for its multifamily developments, said Hank Miller, the Cape Fear Commercial real estate broker who represents Equity One.Equity One, one of the nation's top real estate investment trusts, sees no use for the Galleria as a commercial property and had eyed demolishing it, Miller said.The 97,864-square-foot shopping center – formerly anchored by Harris Teeter, which moved across the street – had become antiquated over time, and closed last year.A mixed-use redevelopment could work better under Wilmington's jurisdiction, Miller said, and would follow the small-area plan's recommendations.Wilmington City Manager Sterling Cheatham said Wilmington could benefit from the additional tax base."I think it would be a natural extension of the city limits," Cheatham said. "The city limits surrounds a lot of that area out there presently."When the matter came before the Wrightsville Beach alderman earlier this month, Owens said he couldn't tell if they supported the request or not. He has not made a recommendation to the board. Wrightsville Beach Mayor David Cignotti on Tuesday said the developers are interested in featuring residential housing on the site, which Wilmington would allow but Wrightsville Beach would not.Thursday's public hearing is designed to see whether residents want the Galleria to be de-annexed, Cignotti said, adding, "That's a pretty important factor in this."Residents he has spoken with are hesitant to support the de-annexation."It's our largest parcel of commercial property west of the drawbridge," the mayor said, adding that a de-annexation would mean the town will lose control over what is built there.With big plans for the former site of the Babies Hospital and the possibility the Galleria could be redeveloped, there are growing concerns about how density will affect the beach town, Cignotti said."If there are several more of those projects going in east of Military Cutoff, personally I think that will add to the traffic and congestion we already have," he said.